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An Army Ranger serving in Afghanistan, Marcus Johnson and his best friend Cheese were on duty when Asgardian God of Fear, the Serpent's forces began spreading fear worldwide. In an already volatile area, this resulted in a massive battle that killed 25 soldiers and injured 48 others, though Johnson and Cheese largely escaped unscathed. Three days after the battle, Johnson received word his mother had died, and returned to Atlanta to attend her funeral, an event also secretly attended by Steve Rogers and Sharon Carter.

Marcus Johnson

Following the funeral, he visited her house, which had been looted during riots caused by the global fear. Looking through the home and discovering blood and a bullet casing, he realized that his mother's death had been a deliberate murder. Upon exiting the house, he and the police officer who was accompanying him came under fire from a sniper, followed by a coordinated attack by Russian mercenaries, specifically targeting Johnson. Though he was able to defeat them using the combat training he had, the arrival of Taskmaster proved more than he could handle, but just before Taskmaster could kill him, Captain America and a small army arrived,[2] saving his life.

He was then taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, but after Captain America refused to explain to him why he was attacked by mercenaries, he escaped and went to find out by himself. With the help of his friend "Cheese" he tracked his mother's assassin Orion who wanted to find Johnson because he was Nick Fury's son, and his blood had the Infinity Formula, that could restore Uvarov to his former self.

Due to the aforementioned reasons, Tom Brevoort, Marvel's Vice President, believed it to be a prudent move by Marvel due to the African-American Nick Fury that appears in films, animated shows, and other licensed adaptations.[6]